Sunday, December 28, 2014

A book foreword is an appetizer that invites the reader to
proceed towards the main course, while he is still hungry. It is a short piece
of writing found at the beginning of a book, preceding the introduction. It is
mainly used to introduce the reader to the author as well as the book.
Moreover, it focuses on the interaction between the writer of the foreword and
the author of the book. These days, book forewords have become more of a
marketing tool that is used to market both the author and the foreword writer.
Occupation as a foreword author is gaining importance day by day. Most
publishers, today, place the foreword author’s name on the cover of the book,
sometimes more prominently than the book author’s name, thereby helping the
foreword writer to promote his services for other professionals as well. If you
too want to be a foreword writer and want to know how to write a perfect book
foreword, this article is definitely worth browsing. Glance through the
following lines to find tips on writing the foreword of a book.

Tips For Writing A
Foreword For A Book

·Know the format for writing a foreword. Usually, a foreword
lasts for one or two pages, but can exceed if the book is being introduced for
the first time and has a long history to tell. The foreword is usually divided
into three general sections: the opening, the closing and the middle. Your name
and title are included at the end of the foreword.

·The foreword should always have a personal touch in the
beginning, that is, the opening lines. Let your readers know how the author of
the foreword knows the author of the book. Doing so increases the credibility
of the book.

·While writing the middle of the foreword, include anecdotes. You
can illustrate an example that represents the theme presented in the book. This
will enable the reader to relate to the author. It would also portray the
author in the right light, showcasing him as a realistic writer who knows his
subject matter well.

·Mention the good points about the book and what the readers will
be expecting in it. Be sure to give a brief synopsis of the book. In case the
book deals with solving problems or offering unique points of view, mention the
same in the middle of the foreword.

·Write the closing of the foreword by mentioning your reasons for
writing the foreword and why it mattered to you in the first place. Writing
this is vital for your career as well the author’s. It is this text that would
boost the reliability and credibility of the book. This will also induce the
readers to continue reading the book, since it has been recommended by the
foreword writer.

·Finally, bring the foreword to an end by mentioning a reference
from the first paragraph into your final paragraph to add cohesiveness.

·After you have completed with writing the foreword, sign at the
end mentioning your name, qualifications, title and location.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Maybe you’re scared to let
anyone read your latest short story. Or perhaps it’s worse than that – you find
yourself agonizing over every email that you write.

You’re not alone.

Most writers – even those who
make a living from their craft – lack confidence at times. Writing is, after
all, a daunting thing to do: you’re putting down your thoughts on the page and
hoping that they’ll be worthy of someone else’s time and attention.

A lack of confidence, though,
can be crippling. It leads writers to give up before they’ve even begun – or to
fret for hours over the simplest of writing tasks.

Whether you’re struggling to get
to grips with grammar or preparing to launch your third novel, you can become
more confident.

Here’s how.

#1: Practice Writing – Regularly

As a child, I had piano lessons.
I didn’t much like having to practice – but I knew that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t
get any better.

It’s the same with writing. Some
people love writing, others find it tedious: but either way, you’ll find that
the more you practice, the more you’ll improve.

That could mean:

Spending ten minutes free-writing every morning

Working through different writing exercises, so you get experience in several forms

Deliberately working on the elements of writing that you find hard (e.g. if you write fiction, practice dialogue or description; if you write for work, practice those difficult emails)

Writing a weekly post for your blog – no excuses!

Write from a prompt (a word, phrase, question or image that inspires you)

Your writing exercises might be
for your eyes only – or you might choose to develop them into something more.
Author E.J. Newman’s From Dark
Places is a book of short stories that started as pieces written
from prompts sent in by her “story of the month club”.

#2: Read Widely

You’re probably already reading
a lot in your chosen genre or area – but try dipping into a book, magazine or
blog that’s very different from what you’d normally choose.

You’ll come across authors who
are:

Journalistic and factual, giving you the details without making any judgements about them

Extremely personal and introspective, writing based on their own experiences

Unconventional and creative with their use of language, perhaps coining new words

…and so on.

There’s no one “correct” way to
write a book, a blog post, or an article – and the more you read, the more
you’ll realise that lots of different styles can be effective. You’ll learn new
techniques, and you’ll also get a better feel for your own voice and
style (look at what resonates with you – and what turns you off completely).

#3: Take Time Over Your Writing

If you don’t like writing, or if
you find it anxiety-provoking, then you might be tempted to get it over with as
quickly as possible.

That’s not a great way to build
your confidence. No writer – not even Shakespeare! – can produce a perfect
piece of work in just one draft. By taking a little extra time to edit your
work, you’ll realise that you can:

Spot clumsy or ambiguous sentences and correct them

Change words that aren’t quite right

Fix any typos or spelling mistakes that have crept in

I often advise writers to write
a basic plan then produce a quick first draft, without worrying too much about
quality: that way, they don’t get bogged down trying to perfect the first
paragraph. After that, though, it’s important to edit rigorously. You’ll feel
more confident about your work when you know you’ve given it enough time and
attention.

#4: Learn About Writing

I’ve been writing with serious
intent (i.e. hoping to get published!) for thirteen years now – half my
lifetime. I’ve read dozens of books and ebooks about writing, I’ve subscribed
to a writing magazine, I’ve taken several online courses, and I’ve completed an
M.A. in Creative Writing.

Obviously, I wouldn’t have
progressed very far at all if I didn’t actually write (see #1!) – but I learnt
a lot about the theory and practice of writing from all these resources.

Whether you’re a brand-new
writer or an old hand, there’s something you can learn. Look out for:

Blogs on writing (like this one) – a great place to start learning for free.

Books about your specific area or genre – try your library

Specialised ebooks and ecourses

Writing conferences where you can attend lectures and workshops

Degree programs – a big investment of time and money, but a great way to study writing in a thorough and rigorous way, alongside other students

#5: Ask For Feedback

This one requires a bit of
bravery … but it’s a great way to give your writing confidence a real boost.

Ask someone for feedback.
Ideally, pick a writer or tutor who you know and trust – you want them to be
honest but also thoughtful.

Get them to tell you what you’re
already doing well (because there’ll be plenty of good things in your work!)
And ask them what you could improve on. I know it can be quite daunting to have
your work critiqued … but once you’ve edited a piece based on feedback, you’ll
be able to have real confidence in it.

#6: Share Your Work With an
Audience

One great way to boost your
confidence is to have appreciative readers for your work. But where do you find
them?

The Web 2.0 era has made
publication accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Sites like
Blogger.com are free and extremely easy to get started with, and allow you to
publish your writing online.

You might even choose to put
together an ebook for people to download and read. You can create this using a
word processing program (like Open Office or Microsoft Word) and then convert
it to a .pdf file, which can be read on any type of computer and on many devices
like Tablet computers and ebook readers.

#7: Submit Your Work for
Publication

One of the best ways to achieve
publication is to send a guest post to a big blog. This can be a pretty
daunting thing to do … but it’s a huge confidence boost if you get your post
accepted. Follow the tips above and make it as good as you can before sending
it in – and make sure you follow any submission guidelines.

You might think that you have to
already be a big “name” in the writing or blogging world in order to get published,
but this simply isn’t true: editors care about the quality of your writing and
the professionalism of your approach.

If you’re a fiction writer, try entering
competitions – winning a prize, or even being shortlisted, is a
great validation of your work.

And if you’re aiming to write
for magazines as a freelancer, try sending in fillers or letters to the editor
– a great first step in making contact and seeing your name in print.

Keep Moving Forwards – However
You Feel

Maybe it seems like other
writers have far more confidence than you. You see them chatting away at
conferences, or you look at their work on big blogs or you read their
prize-winning competition entries … and you think if only I was as confident as
them.

Perhaps you already are. Maybe
they spent a week screwing up their courage to send in that competition entry,
or they had to take a deep breath and conquer their nerves before striking up a
conversation with a stranger at that conference.

As you write more (regardless of
how you feel) and as you put your work out there in the world, you’ll find that
you gradually become more confident and comfortable with your writing.

What one step could you take
today to help boost your writing confidence? Pick something from the list above
– or add your own ideas in the comments!

You can find Ali Luke posting
all over the blogosphere – but her home base is on her own blog, Aliventures.
If you want to get more writing done, check out her post How to Write Thousands of Words Every
Single Week and follow the eight simple steps there.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Packaging is everything. Each year, corporations spend more
than $50 billion on product packaging and design. $50 billion, not for the
products themselves or for the wrapper but $50 billion just for the design of
the wrapper.

Everyone judges a book by its cover. No one reads the book before they make a
buying decision. Consumers do not read it in the store. Sales reps only carry
book covers and jackets to show bookstore owners/buyers while wholesalers and
distributors say “just send us the cover copy.” All buying decisions are made
on the illustration/design and the ad-sales copy on the outside of the book.
Yes, packaging is everything.

The bookstore browser averages less than eight seconds looking at the front
cover and fifteen seconds reading the back cover. You must hook them
immediately and keep them reading the back cover or they will put the book back
on the shelf.

Most of Lightbourne’s cover-design work is done long distance, so when the new
client walked in wearing buckskin and natural cotton attire, Gaelyn and Bram
Larrick knew that this project would be unique and fun. Matt Richards had
written a book on taking raw deerskin and creating beautiful buckskin garments
and useful goods, a process that was more of a lifestyle for him.

He had located the cover-design company as a result of reading Dan Poynter's
Self-Publishing Manual, but was still nervous about spending his money on a
professionally-designed cover.

Matt lived in the wilderness and his way of life didn't require him to earn
much money. The cover would cost one-quarter of his entire annual income.

Six months later, Matt wrote that his book was
selling so well in both his niche market and bookstores that his annual income
had already increased 4-5 times. His professionally-designed cover not only
made him prouder of his book, it gave the contents more credibility and helped
the book to sell. http://www.lightbourne.com

“Anyone who says ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’ has never met the
category buyer from Barnes & Noble.” — Terri Lonier, author, Working Solo.

Good packaging sells soap, breakfast food and pantyhose. It can also be used to
sell books. Put your imagination into your title and your advertising money
into your cover. Since everyone from the distributor, to wholesalers, to
bookstore buyers, to the ultimate customer judges a book by its cover, give
them what they need—a compelling cover with art and a sales message that will
encourage a buying decision.

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About Me

An enthusiastic instructor and writer, I spend my time freelancing as both. I teach book writing as well as all aspects of graphic design. I love to teach and I very much enjoy writing and creating books.